Birthday Cards

Happy Summer! It’s officially Summer now and the sun is shining bright and people are taking advantage of the outdoors. It’s a nice break from being inside all of the time for so many months.

The kitchen is still being worked on so another week still from being able to do some nice baking. I thought it might be nice to look at some of our favourite birthday cards that we have created. We haven’t been able to craft together for some time now so it will be nice to take a look at some of our favourite creations. I picked birthday cards in honor of my Grandmother who turns 93 today!

Enjoy and be inspired.

Simple Granola Bars

Once again we are heading to Nicole’s kitchen and checking in on a recipe that she tried out not long ago. She made some good for you healthy granola bars so take a look and see how she made them.

Simple Healthy Granola Bars

2½ cups of rolled oats

½ cup of coarsely chopped whole almonds

1/3 cup of honey

¼ cup of butter cut into pieces

¼ cup of packed brown sugar

½ tsp. of vanilla

¼ tsp. of salt

½ cup of dried cranberries

¼ cup + 2 tbsp. of mini chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom and sides of a 8 inch or 9 inch square baking pan with tin foil. Then spray with cooking oil or brush with melted butter.

Put the oats and almonds on a small baking sheet and cook for 5 minutes, stir and then cook for another 3-5 minutes until toasted and then pour into a mixing bowl.

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter with honey, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Cook until butter melts and sugar dissolves.

Pour the butter mix over the oats and almonds and stir until well mixed. Cool for about 5 minutes and then add in the cranberries and ¼ cup of chocolate chips. Stir.

Spread and pat into the prepared pan. Press firmly to make sure it’s all packed in there. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.

Cover and then refrigerate for 2 hours before cutting into bars.

Zucchin Carrot Muffins

Today something from Nicole’s kitchen. She has been isolating at home with her family and tried out this recipe not too long ago so take a look and try it for one of your daily breakfasts or for a nice snack.

Zucchini Carrot Muffins

You will need...

2 cups of flour

¾ cups of packed dark brown sugar

½ cups of large flake oats

¼ cup of ground flaxseed

¼ cup of raw and unsalted pumpkin seeds

¼ cup of currents (optional; Nicole used Craisins)

2 tbsp. of natural wheat germ

2 tsp. of baking powder

2 tsp. of cinnamon

1 cup of skim milk

½ cup of canola oil

2 eggs

1 cup of finely grated zucchini

1 cup of finely grated carrot

½ cup of finely chopped apple with the skin on

How to...

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a 12 cup muffin pan.

Whisk all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Now in a medium bowl, whisk all the wet ingredients together.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just to combine.

Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Allow to cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes; then cool on a rack before storing.

Nicole was busy with her brand new baby while she was baking these so we only have a finished product photo but the rest of the steps are pretty typical with any muffin recipe that you will make.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy June!

Ok, so the kitchen is still being worked on. I swear it will take another month before I can get in there to bake again.

Today I have a recipe for you that I tried a little while back at the urging of my father who said it looked really good. It’s a different take on chocolate chip cookies. When you think of double chocolate you think of dark/milk and lots of it, but these cookies are double because they have both white chocolate and dark chocolate in them. If you are a white chocolate fan then these are a must try.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

You will need:

½ cup of butter or margarine

1 1/3 cup of white chocolate chips or chunks

4  eggs

1 ¼ cup of sugar

2 tsp. of vanilla

1 ½ cups of flour

½ tsp. of baking powder

¼ tsp. of salt

1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

In a glass bowl or measuring cup, melt your butter with the white chocolate. Stir up well.

Whip the eggs with the sugar and the vanilla in your mixer with the whisk attachment. Make sure it becomes pale and thick.

In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Now whisk the melted chocolate into the egg mixture.

Next, whisk the flour mix in and finally stir in the semi sweet chocolate chips.

Cover the batter and chill for at least 4 hours.

Once chilled, scoop and roll the dough into balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes. They will look pale and cracked on the top but underneath 

will be nice and golden.

Cool and enjoy.